Day of the Defenders
by Dr. Algae
Summary: It's a race across the globe and against time as Earth's Mightiest Heroes find themselves confronted by an enigmatic team of rogue super-humans, including a turncoat Hulk, led by the man known only as... Strange.
1. Water

_Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes_ and all related characters and concepts are the property of Marvel Entertainment and the Walt Disney Company. Please don't sue me, Mousy Overlords. :(

* * *

 **Somewhere…**

The Wendigo howled silently as it pounced, eyes blazing red and fangs gleaming white, before being sent flying back by a gigantic jade fist.

The looming form of the Incredible Hulk lumbered out of the white haze, letting loose a bellow that somehow managed to shake the earth without making a single sound.

A dimly lit figure stood above the mystic scrying pool, arms crossed haughtily, watching the silent battle unfold.

"Are you certain this… savage is the one we need, Doctor?" the figure sneered with disdain.

"The First Tarot does not err, my Prince," the second figure answered from the shadows, laying another ancient yellowed card upon the table. "After all, it led me to _you_."

"True," the first speaker conceded.

Within the confines of the pool, the whirling image of the Wendigo bit deep into the Hulk's shoulder; making up for what it lacked in strength with sheer savage speed. The Hulk for his part snarled something no doubt colorful before slamming both combatants backward into a granite cliff-face.

The first speaker arched an eyebrow. "The brute has spirit, I'll grant him that."

[-]

 **Quebec, Canada**

Something like thunder cracked across the valley as Hulk slammed the Wendigo into the granite cliff face, the man-eater's fangs refusing to relinquish their hold even then. The entire mountain began to collapse, bringing a rain of snow and rock down upon the dueling monsters.

Not that Hulk particularly cared. He'd probably survive. If not…? Well, at least he was going out on a high note.

A backhand over the shoulder was enough to dislodge the Wendigo, sending the shaggy beast reeling into unconsciousness.

Hulk turned to confront the immense avalanche currently surging down the valley, subsuming even the tallest redwoods. He dug his heels deep into the earth and unleashed a roar of challenge, ready to charge the white tsunami before…

It stopped.

A baffled Hulk blinked at the sight before him. The entire raging avalanche had simply frozen in mid-onslaught as though captured in a photograph the moment before impact.

"Huh...?" Hulk grunted. Gingerly poking a clump of snowflake hanging in mid-air.

Behind him, the unconscious Wendigo was suddenly enveloped in a shimmering mist before disappearing completely.

"HEY!" Hulk protested, racing over to dig through the newly bare snow. "What's the big idea?!"

"No need for alarm," a voice intoned. Hulk looked up to see two strangers hovering in the cold light of the northern sun. The first was a pale goateed man clad in a dark blue Nehru jacket, a crimson cloak draped across his shoulders and a golden medallion hung about his neck.

The second stranger was clad in nothing save a pair of sleek green-black trunks, bare from the waist up in defiance of the cold. His hair was black and slicked back as though wet. He glared down at Hulk, at everything really, with disdain.

By far his most distracting feature were the twin pairs of tiny wing-like fins jutting from his ankles. They fluttered rapidly, like the wings of a hummingbird, holding the stranger aloft in open contempt of the laws of aerodynamics.

"How are you even staying up there?" asked a bewildered Hulk.

"Watch your green tongue, beast, before I-" the ankle-winged stranger snarled back before he was cut-off by his cloaked companion hovering between them.

"I am Doctor Stephan Strange," the cloaked stranger inclined his head. "And my… associate is Namor the First, Prince of Atlantis."

Namor glared daggers over Stranger's shoulder.

"And we have… a proposal for you, Hulk," Strange intoned.

[-]

 **Hydrobase, North Atlantic**

Janet van Dyne, better known to the world at large as the Wondrous Wasp, fluttered over the runway of Hydrobase. The floating artificial island currently served as S.H.I.E.L.D's main holding facility for captured super-criminals, and other items deemed too dangerous to hold on the mainland.

She hovered back and forth, barely more than an inch tall, eyes scanning the cold grey clouds amassing on the northern ocean's horizon until…

 _KRAKADOOOUM!_

Thunder cracked as lightning flashed across the sky, heralding the arrival of a soaring figure soaring across the heavens and held aloft by nothing save a roughly hewn hammer.

"Hey Thor," Wasp piped up. "Down here!"

A moment later, Thor landed upon the runway with enough impact to send a reverberation throughout the entire Hydrobase. A nearby S.H.E.I.L.D. Agent shot the pair of Avengers a glare as she steadied her footing.

"Sorry," Jan grinned sheepishly before turning back to the thunder god. "Yeesh Thor, you nearly capsized the-"

Thor rose to his feet; chin bearded and unkempt, and eyes haggard. His armor was dented and scorched, crimson cloak tattered and frayed. A chipped broad-ax was slung across his back in addition to the mighty Mjolnir.

"Hail, friend Janet!" Thor thundered with mirth that belied his ragged appearance. "How fares Midgard since we last met?"

"Um… fine, mostly," Janet answered. "Tony asked me to show you down to the lab?"

"Then lead the way, fair Wasp!" Thor grinned. "Whilst thou regale me with tales of thy most recent exploits!"

[-]

Despite the Asgardian's words, the long walk through Hydrobase's winding labyrinth-like corridor was spent mostly in awkward silence.

"So… I like the beard, very rugged," said Wasp.

"The…?" Thor stroked his chin as though noticing it for the first time, before forcing a grin. "Why yes, 'tis most agreeable to many of the maidens of Asgard… and a fair few of the menfolk."

Wasp frowned. "Thor, is something wrong? We've barely seen you since that mess with Galactus a few months back, and-"

"'Tis nothing, Janet."

"But-"

"I said, 'tis nothing."

They passed the rest of the way quietly before coming upon a heavily guarded adamantium airlock, emblazoned with a dark green number seven. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on duty scanned them wordlessly before inputting a code into a keypad that released the airlock with a sibilant hiss.

They stepped into a hi-tech laboratory to rival anything in Stark Tower or Avengers Mansion. Iron Man hunched over a control console, mumbling softly to himself.

"No, that's not it… maybe a multispectral…" His armored helmet suddenly perked up, faceplate retracting to reveal the face of Tony Stark. "Oh, hey Thor, Jan, glad you could make it. Wanted to get our resident 'magic' guy's opinion on something."

Tony gestured towards the hermetically sealed glass dome at the center of the lab. Under which lay an ornate crown of a greenish copper-like metal, cast in the image of a seven-headed serpent.

"Eeeww…" Wasp groaned. "Isn't that the creepy snake crown we nabbed off Viper and the Serpent Society a while back?"

Thor's eyes narrowed. "The Serpent Crown of Set."

[-]

Agent Wendall Vaughn surreptitiously checked his chronometer again as he patrolled the runway. Still twenty more minutes 'til he was relieved of his watch.

It wasn't that Wendall resented his duties, but he had enlisted with S.H.E.I.L.D. because he wanted to make a real difference in the world. Something that his mind couldn't quite equate with marching back and forth along an empty runway for hours at a time. He just wished something… anything would happen.

So it was perhaps oddly fortunate for Wendall when a thirty-foot long grey-green tentacle snaked from the ocean waves, wrapping itself about him like a boa constrictor.

[-]

"In truth, friend Stark, I fear I have little to tell,' Thor spoke apologetically. "Set was one of the Elder Gods, deities of a far older cycle of creation. They long passed into legend err the first stone of Asgard's foundations were laid."

"Huh… well, then I got nothing," Iron Man sighed. "You wouldn't believe how much I had to grovel for Maria just to let me look at the thing."

"Euggh…" Wasp shivered, fluttering about the dome containing the crown. "It's like fourteen evil little eyes following me around the room."

 _VRRROOOOOOP-VRRROOOOOP!_

The lights suddenly turned blood red as warning klaxons rang out across the entire facility.

"Alert, Hydrobase is under attack. All hands to battle stations. Alert…" the clipped tones of the base's automated systems intoned.

"Well so much for an afternoon of quite lab work," Iron Man said, faceplate snapping back into position.

[-]

Thor, Wasp & Iron Man burst onto Hydrobase's upper deck, only to be greeted by the sight of some monstrous… thing oozing down the runway.

It was an asymmetrical slithering grey-green mass of claws and tentacles. A crunched fighter jet hung from its yellowed beak as tendrils swatted away entire squads of S.H.E.I.L.D. agents, blaster fire simply bouncing off the beast's rubbery hide.

Upon the creature's back rode a single haughty figure, wielding a golden trident and glaring down at the ensuing chaos with disdain.

"It's the Sub-Mariner!" Wasp exclaimed.

"Who?" asked Iron Man.

"You know, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Prince of Atlantis?" Wasp elaborated. "He tried to invade Wakanda that one time."

"musta been out sick that day," said Iron Man. "Avengers, take-"

The assembled heroes and S.H.I.E.L.D. personal suddenly lurched to one side as something impacted the runway with all the force of a landing mountain, nearly capsizing the entire structure for the second time in as many hours.

Thor's sight was the first to return as the dust settled, sifting through the debris as a lumbering jade form arose from a wreckage-strewn crater.

"HULK!?" crowed the Asgardian merrily. "Art though not a vision for mine weary eyes? Come, lets us dispatch this devil back the depths from whence it-"

The Hulk wordlessly sent the God of Thunder flying across the deck with a backhand.

"HULK!?" exclaimed a wide-eyed Wasp. "What on Earth are you doing?!"

The Green Goliath's only response was to charge the two remaining Avengers, who barely had time to evade as the Hulk went plowing into a control tower

"Well, the Hulk has lost it… again," said Iron Man.

Amid the chaos, he caught sight of the Sub-Mariner slicing through the deck with his trident before slipping into Hydrobase's interior.

"Wasp, you and Thor get things here under control!" barked Iron Man.

"What!? Where are you gonna be?" asked Wasp.

"Taking down the Sub-Mariner… Hopefully," he replied before disappearing into the wound-like gap in the base's hull.

Wasp sighed before something blocked out the sun a moment later. She looked up, eyes agog, as yet a new figure entered the fray.

A knight clad entirely in ebon and gold armor glared down silently, riding astride what looked like a bat-winged, coal-black warhorse.

"Get things under control, he says," sighed Wasp.

[-]

"HALT! In the name of S.H. !" One of the two Mandroid guards cried as the Sub-Mariner surged forward, ripping a mechanical arm from one of the armored mechs before using it to bludgeon their comrade into unconsciousness.

"Pitiful…" Namor sneered, tossing aside the robotic limb with contempt. "Are these the best warriors the surface world can breed now?"

"Turn around and find out," a metallic-tinged voice spoke.

The Sub-Mariner turned to be confronted by gold and crimson armored figure, arms raised.

"You must be the Iron Man," spoke Namor. "Frankly, I'm underwhelmed."

"Yeah… I get that a lot," said Iron Man, charging his repulsors.

"NO!" A new voice rang out as the corridor was suddenly filled with shimmering mist that dissipated almost as quickly as it had appeared, revealing a gaunt grey-temple figure clad in a crimson cloak standing between the two combatants.

"Namor, retrieve the First Cornerstone," said the stranger, turning on Iron Man. "I can handle the Avenger."

"Hrmmm… very well, Doctor." Namor bristled visibly before turning down the corridor.

"Doctor, huh?" said Iron Man. "That should come in handy when you gotta stitch-up your own-"

"Leave here, Stark," the Doctor spoke imperiously, cutting him off. "I have a plan you couldn't even begin to comprehend. And I won't have it interfered with by some small-minded, gold-plated egomaniac with all the impulse control of a fifteen-year-old."

"Did… did you just call me stupid?" Tony blurted. "Do you know who _I_ am?"

"Know you?" the Doctor scoffed as he unclasped the crimson cloak, allowing it to fall to the floor. "I used to _be_ you."

"Okay, 'Doc', I'm giving you 'til the count of three before I drop you!" said Iron Man. "One…"

The Doctor gave no response but to close his eyes, beginning a low chant. " _To these mortal blows, I refuse to yield…_ "

"Two…

" _Turn them back with the Seraphim's Shield!"_

"Three!" Iron Man let loose twin blue repulse beam, lancing towards their target.

At almost the same moment, six wings of blinding golden light sprouted from the Doctor's back before enveloping him in a shell of pure energy, against which the repulsor beam crashed like the tide against a granite wall.

"What in the…" said Tony softly.

"By the way, Stark," said the Doctor, dissipating the shield with a gesture. "You should look behind you."

"Oh, like I'm gonnaARGFFL!" Tony blurted as the Doctor's crimson cloak pounced upon, snaking around his helmet.

The Armoured Avenger flailed helplessly as the living cloak lifted him bodily from the floor…

 _Thunk!_

Before ramming back into the floor…

 _Thunk!_

Then the ceiling…

 _Thunk!_

 _Thunk!_

Then both walls…

 _Thunk!_

And then the floor once more just for good measure.

[-]

Namor turned another corner leading to 'Lab 7' as the Doctor called it, only to be greeted by yet another squad of at least a dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents bearing as many particle rifles.

"Freeze or we will open fire!" the lead agent cried.

"This again?" sighed Namor, cracking his neck. "Very well."

Before the Sub-Mariner could take another step, something in blue and silver blurred past him. A heartbeat later, the entire squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents lay crumpled, unconscious and disarmed upon the floor.

Above them stood an olive-skinned, silver-haired youth; hands on his hips and a cocksure grin on his lips. "Ta-da!"

Namor walked past him with barely a glance.

"'Gee, Quicksilver, thanks for saving my butt back there'" the silver-haired youth pouted. "Is how that conversation normally goes."

A third figure stepped out of the shadow, a scarlet-clad woman of the same age and complexion as the youth called Quicksilver.

"You did a very good job, Pietro," she spoke, patting him on the shoulder.

"Wanda, must you patronize me in front of him?" asked Quicksilver.

Namor stood before the adamantium airlock blocking entry to the lab. "Scarlet Witch, if you would be so kind?"

Wanda stepped towards the door, crimson light dancing between her fingertips as they passed over the keypad.

"Try not to think about it," she said. "Just enter the first combination that comes to mind."

Namor arched a skeptical eyebrow before entering four digits almost at random. "One… Nine… Three… Nine."

"Access granted." Spoke the disembodied voice of the computer as the adamantium doors drew back, revealing the sickly green radiance within. Namor's normally stoic visage contorted with something between awe and revulsion.

"The Serpent's Crown," he whispered fearfully.

[-]

"MOTHERLESS!"

 _Thunk_

"SON!"

 _Thunk._

"OF!"

 _Thunk._

"A!"

 _Thunk._

The Doctor watched in detached bemusement as the crimson cloak continued to batter Iron Man across the corridor. The Armoured Avenger's jets sporadically fired off, attempting to right himself.

"Strange!" cried Namor, racing up the hall, flanked by twin youths and something bundled under his arm. "We have the Crown!"

"Very well," the Doctor nodded in curt acknowledgment before turning back to the entangled Iron Man. " _Return._ "

The Cloak immediately and unceremoniously dropped the nauseated Avenger with a clang, before flying across the corridor to rest upon it's master's shoulders.

The man called Strange chanted low in an unrecognizable tongue, swiftly enveloping he and his allies in shimmering mist.

Iron Man awkwardly clambered to his hands and knees, nursing his helmeted cranium. "Uuuughh… haven't had a night like this since I quit drinking."

"Tony!" Wasp's voice rang out as she fluttered into view, quickly followed by Thor.

"Are you injured friend Stark," asked the thunder god, helping Iron Man to his feet.

"Yeah… I'll be fine once they stop ringing that damn bell," Tony groaned. "What happened?"

"We were gonna ask you," said Wasp. "Hulk and the Horse-Guy just vanished along with that monster."

"Whelp… that was considerate of them at least," said Iron Man. "Who the Hell was that guy?"

[-]

 _ **The Abyss**_

 _Dr. Stephen Strange floated amid an ocean of cold blood and unshed tears. The oily obsidian waters constantly rippled with ageless hunger and eternal malice. Somewhere far below in the absolute depths of the Abyss, titan coils vast enough to constrict entire worlds slept._

 _To retrieve the knowledge Strange sought from this realm without drawing the attention of the Old Serpent would require iron nerve, flawless application of his mystic skills, and above all; absolute concentr-_

KUURRSSSHHHH!

[-]

 **The Sanctum Sanctorum, 117A Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, NYC**

Strange's eyes snapped open as he was jarred back to what less enlightened minds called 'reality', the walls of his private study flying back into place, the Serpent's Crown still safely ensconced within a runic circle.

 _BRAAAATSSH!_

"What now..?" he groaned, enveloping himself shimmering mist.

He apparated a moment later in the main living room, to find it looking more like a war zone. The Hulk had Namor's head locked in his trunk-like forearms as the Sub-Mariner trashed wildly, letting loose a string of Atlantean expletives regarding the Hulk's parentage.

All the while, Quicksilver's blurred form peppered both combatants with a rapid barrage of blows that struck with all the speed and fury of an enraged hummingbird.

Off to the side, the Scarlet Witch and the Black Knight looked on aghast; along with a dark-skinned, silver-haired woman clad in purple who seemed to regard the unfolding carnage with mere… annoyance.

"This is what you get for inviting house guests over on Wong's week off," she muttered as Strange sidled up next to her.

"Noted, Clea dear," Strange replied nonchalantly.

"Doctor, please," The Scarlet Witch implored. "They're going to kill each other!"

"Doubtful, but still…" Strange raised his hand in an arcane pattern. " _Seven rings has Raggador, from indigo to deepest black! But Oshtur grant me something more… The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!"_

Ribbons of crimson light burst forth from the Doctor's fingertips, swiftly snaking about the brawling trio with all the suppleness of silk before constricting and becoming hard as adamantium as the three were hoisted off the ground.

Strange glared up at the bound trio. "Do I even want to know?"

"This insolent brat slandered me and imputed my honor!" Namor snarled, glaring at Quicksilver.

"Hey, fishboy here was trying to put the moves on my sister!" Quicksilver shot back.

"No, he was not, Pietro!" Wanda protested before turning back to Strange. "He really wasn't."

Strange sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And why were you fighting, Hulk?"

The Hulk shrugged. "Why not?"

"'Cuz it was none of your business, Shrek!" Quicksilver sniped.

"Oh were you there, twinkle-toes?" Hulk rumbled. "I didn't notice."

"You think I'm scared of you, Jade Jaws?!"

"Pietro, stop baiting him!"

"I've taken down a lot tougher than this overgrown chia pet!"

"Ain't no one tougher than ME!"

"Ah…your mother wears combat boot!"

"Hulk's mother wore sensible shoes!"

"Strange, release me this instant or by Valka-"

"ENOUGH!" Strange's voice boomed as the chamber was suddenly filled with blinding light.

Once it subsided, Namor, Quicksilver and the Hulk found themselves standing upon a seemingly endless desert of grey-blue sand, the sky above filled with crystalline facets of every earthly hue and more.

"STRANGE!" Namor bellowed into the void. "I am not some mewling acolyte you can chastise! I am Namor the First, Prince of Atlantis, Emperor of the Deep, Lord of the Seven Seas and Supreme Commander of the undersea legions! DO YOU HEAR ME, STRANGE!?"

"Yeah… pretty sure he's not listening, fish-sticks," Hulk rumbled.

"Bored now. Later losers," Quicksilver sniped before racing off into the distance.

"No, Quicksilver, come back," Namor droned dryly. "You might be devoured by some otherworldly horror, and wouldn't that be a tragedy?"

"HA!" Hulk barked slapping the Atlantean's shoulder. "You're alright, fish-sticks."

"I am a Prince of the Blood, brute," Namor groaned, shrugging off the Hulks slab-like hand. "Do not presume to touch my person."

Hulk smirked, placing a single finger on Namor's shoulder. "Touch."

[-]

Strange smirked, placing the multi-hued crystal upon an undamaged desk before striding imperiously into the winding corridors of his Sanctum.

He was followed closely by the Scarlet Witch and the Black Knight, despite the corridors not all together winding through the three conventional dimensions.

"Doctor, My brother…?" Wanda began.

"Will be retrieved once I've located the remaining Cornerstones," Strange answered. "Until then, he and the others can vent their frustrations on something other than my furniture."

"What if the Avengers reach the Cornerstones first?" inquired the Black Knight.

Strange snorted. "Somehow I doubt Stark has imagination enough to piece together our actual agenda."

[-]

 **Avengers Mansion, 890 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City**

Six glimmering holograms of the Hydrobase attackers shimmered into existence above the round meeting table. Most notably, the emerald image of the Incredible Hulk, face frozen in mid-snarl.

"Don't we have any pics of Hulk that are less… grrr?" asked Wasp.

"Jan, have you met the Hulk?" Tony snipped.

"Yes, I have," Jan snipped back. "And I can't believe he would just turn on us like this."

"I can," Tony muttered under his breath.

Jan's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come off it, Jan. The Hulk's always been a loose cannon," Tony snapped. "This team was barely a month old before he went berserk on us!"

"Because he was under one of the Enchantress' evil spells!"

"And how about the time the Hulk tried smashing me and Cap _after_ we bailed him outta Ross' dungeon?"

"You _know_ Ross put that freaky brain probe in his head!"

"I'm just saying it's kinda funny how it's always the Hulk who gets brainwashed or possessed!"

"I concur with Wasp, friend Stark," Thor interjected softly. "The Hulk's moods are… tempestuous at best, yet he doth have his own rough honor. He wouldst not attack us without some reason."

"Let's just move onto the rest of the dirty half-dozen…" Tony sighed. "Starting with the 'Man from Atlantis' here."

"Gotta give him credit," Wasp purred, drinking in the Sub-Mariner's holo-image. "Not many guys can pull off a speedo."

"'Lil focus, Wasp," Tony drawled. "How did you beat Namor when he invaded Wakanda?"

"Cap talked him down. They're like… old war buddies or something." Wasp looked up again at the glistening holo-image. "We should all look that good hitting ninety."

"Well Cap, Ms. Marvel, and Yellowjacket are currently infiltrating a HYDRA cell in Russia, so moving on…" said Tony. "Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, AKA Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver; mutant supremacist radicals."

" _Former_ mutant supremacist radicals," Wasp imposed. "Keyword: former."

"…and the children of Magneto; super-powered terrorist nutjob supreme."

"So? Thor's brother is the God of Evil!" said Wasp. "No offense, Thor."

"None taken," the Thunderer shrugged.

"According to the MRD's files, Quicksilver possesses super-speed while the Scarlet Witch can manipulate localized probability fields," Tony explained.

Thor blinked. "Pardon?"

Tony scratched his chin for a moment. "She has bad luck powers."

Thor nodded. "Ah"

Tony rotated one of the holo-images. "Which brings us to the Black Knight."

"Yeah…" Wasp scrunched her brow. "Who is this guy again?"

"British superhero. First made the news fending off Kang's invasion of London," Tony exclaimed. "Apparently he's kind of a big deal over there."

"Well… I guess the flying horse is cool," Wasp conceded.

"Probably just genetically-engineered," said Tony. "But that sword of his… spectral analysis shows it isn't made of any metal found on this planet."

"Space sword, got it." Wasp nodded.

"And then there's this creep," Tony sneered as the image shifted to that of the gaunt mage.

"Facial recognition pegs him as Dr. Stephen Strange; one of the most brilliant neurosurgeons in the country. Up until his healing hands got mangled in an auto accident 'bout a decade ago. Pretty much dropped off the face of the Earth after that… 'til now."

"This Strange is a formidable foe indeed," spoke Thor. "His sorcery rivals even that of mine brother, Loki."

"He wasn't that great," Tony muttered to himself, arms crossed.

"Really?" asked Wasp "'Cuz from what we saw he kinda whooped your ironclad butt?"

Tony shot Jan a glare.

"I'm just sayin'." Jan threw up her hands. "So what do a not so jolly green giant, a merman with a chip on his shoulder, two mutant outlaws, a wannabe knight of the Round Table, and a surgeon turned wizard even have in common?"

"Nothing," Iron Man sighed. "Except for Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, I don't think any of them had even met before today. It's like someone picked their names out of a hat!"

"A magic hat?"

Iron Man ignored Wasp's quip, glaring at the holo-image of the man called Strange. "He called the Crown 'the first cornerstone". That mean anything to you, Thor?"

"Odin's blood," spoke Thor, eyes wide. "The Cornerstones of Creation!"

"The what now?" asked Wasp.

"'Tis said that before shedding their corporeal forms, the last surviving Elder Gods each invested a portion of their power into four talismans of incredible power. It was so that they might always have an anchor in the material plane," Thor intoned ominously. "The Serpent's Crown is but one of these relics."

"And the other three?" asked Tony.

"The Darkhold of the Chaos Lord Ch'thon, the Bone Sword of the Bright Lady Oshtur, and the Ebon Rose of the Allmother Jord," spoke Thor, intoning the last name with hushed reverence. "In the wrong hands, any one of these relics could lay waste to Midgard. With all four…"

The room fell silent for a moment.

"Wait a sec," Tony suddenly blurted, bringing up a holographic globe.

"Tony, what are you doing?" asked Wasp.

"First thing I did once we got back from Hydrobase was try scanning for the Crown's unique energy signature using the Stark satellite network. Naturally, I got bupkiss. Figured Dumbledore was masking it somehow. But if I widen my parameters and scan for energy signatures that are just similar enough…"

Three glowing dots pinged to life along the face of the holo-globe.

Tony smirked. "I know, I know. I'm brilliant."

Wasp zipped down to insect size, fluttering about the holo-globe. "Looks like Egypt, Romania and… oooh, I always wanted to go to England."

"Well, here's where you get your chance," said Tony. "J.A.R.V.I.S., send out the call."

[-]

 **Central Park**

"So the zen master says to the hot dog vendor..." Clint began.

"Make me one with everything." The mustachioed hotdog vendor rolled his eyes, slathering the sausage with relish. "Two bucks."

"That's what I like about you, Stan." Clint handed over a fifty dollar bill. "You get me."

"Here's your dog."

"Where's my change?"

"Change comes from within," the vendor smiled serenely.

"Haha, very funny," Clint snorted. "But seriously, man, where's my-"

 _Beep-beep._

 _Beep-beep._

Clint fished the flashing I.D. card from his wallet. "Nevermind," he groaned before dashing off.

[-]

 **Bronx Zoo**

The Black Panther landed among the grass with appropriately catlike grace, sending a small herd of zebras into a scattered panic. He unsheathed his claws as a new shape stalked out of the underbrush.

It was some hellish amalgamation of lion, leopard, cheetah, and man; yellow eyes gleaming balefully as it crouched low.

"There is only room for one apex predator in this city," the beast growled. "And this city belongs to KRAVEN!"

The man-beast pounced upon the Panther, who waited until the last moment to leap for an overhanging tree branch.

Kraven landed where the Panther had stood. The mutated hunter spun on his paws, ready to pursue his quarry, before pausing at the sound of a distinctly electronic whine. "Eh…?"

"You are indeed a formidable hunter, Kravinoff," the Panther intoned, watching from his perch as four metallic prongs suddenly sprung from the sod surrounding Kraven.

"But I am better."

Kraven howled as electricity arced from the four metal prongs, shocking the man-beast into unconsciousness as he collapsed with a dull thud.

Panther took a moment to quietly bask in the glow of a well-earned victory before his reverie was broken by the faint silent vibrations of his Avengers ID card.

By morning, the authorities would find the barely conscious Kraven hanging from a sturdy tree branch, trussed up like a prize turkey.

[-]

 **New York Public Library, Main Branch**

Poised upon a tall rolling ladder, chin resting upon his fist, the android Vision carefully pondered the weighty tome upon his lap:

 _Have you ever, while pondering the ways of the morn, Thought to save just a bit, just a drop in the horn To pour in the evening, or late afternoon, Or during the night, when we're shining the Moon?_

 _Have you ever cried out, while counting the snow, Or watching the tomtit warble "Hello": "BREAK OUT THE CIGARS! This life is for squirrels We're off to the drugstore to whistle at girls"?_

His lips curled faintly upwards.

"Hh"

The gem upon his forehead flashed briefly, and in a moment the Vision had returned the tome to its proper alcove before rising ghostlike through the library's domed roof.

[-]

 **Avengers Mansion**

Iron Man snapped his helmet into place. "Avengers… Assemble!"

 _ **To be continued...**_


	2. Earth

_Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes_ and all related characters and concepts are the property of Marvel Entertainment and the Walt Disney Company. Please don't sue me, Mousy Overlords. :(

* * *

 **Undisclosed Location**

Grainy images of the two quinjets disappearing over the horizon followed closely by a hammer-spinning Thor, played across a bank of grey monitors.

"Excellent." a voice whispered softly in the darkness.

The speaker was, by and large, an unimposing figure. Pale skin, dark bushy hair and a diminutive physique wrapped in a plain green jumpsuit, all combined to give an impression quite unlike that many would expect from one of the most wanted super-criminals on the planet.

Though the ignorant might call him 'mad', he preferred to refer to himself simply as… The Thinker.

He sat upon a plain stool, chin resting upon his fist. Behind him stood a row of half-complete android duplicates at silent attention. With a flick of a dial, the images upon the row of monitors changed.

Spider-Man struggled with Doctor Octopus and the newly formed Sinister Seven in lower Manhattan. In Mexico City, the mutant X-Men were currently locked in combat with the immortal warlord known only as Apocalypse. Meanwhile, the Baxter Building stood deserted as the Fantastic Four explored the Microverse.

The Thinker's lips curled upwards. He had waited months for this inevitable moment when all of Earth's so-called 'heroes' were simultaneously occupied or incommunicado. The perfect moment to set his 'Final Plan' into motion.

His thumb hovered over a crimson switch, savoring the moment. One flick and by the time the 'heroes' realized what was happening, it would be too late. He'd prepared for every contingency, calculated every possible outcome, factored in every conceivable variable.

In short, he'd done the math.

So naturally, the Thinker was completely taken aback to hear a chill high-pitched tittering coming from somewhere over his shoulder. He instantly spun around on his stool only to freeze in mute incomprehension.

Perched upon the shoulder of an inert android sat a creature unlike any the Thinker had ever seen. Barely two-feet-tall, spindly-limbed with a skin of ice-blue and a wispy beard of snow-white; the creature was clad in blood-red tights and a tiny forest green waistcoat bestrewn with bells of gold and silver.

Its manically grinning teeth champed down upon a jauntily-angled candy cane while clutching a dull grey Walther P38 in both comically undersized hands. It was unmistakably, undeniably, an elf…

An elf with a gun.

The Thinker watched in frozen fascination as the elf awkwardly raised its weapon. His mind whirred furiously, trying to decipher how such a creature could even exist, let alone penetrate his lair's defenses.

No answers came as the creature took aim, its tittering rising to a crackling crescendo.

It just didn't add up.

 _BANG!_

[-]

 **Glastonbury Tor, Somerset, England**

A sea of grey mist spread over the countryside under the light of a cold dim sun. The only feature to be seen was a looming green hill that rose island-like from the watery mist, crowned by a single ancient stone tower.

The air was silent save for a distant peal of thunder and the soft fluttering of tiny wings.

"So according to the guidebook I downloaded this is supposed to be where King Arthur is buried! How cool is that? King. Freaking. Arthur!" Wasp gushed, zipping through the sky. "Hey Thor, you were around back then, right?"

"Aye," the Thunderer nodded as he soared alongside her. "But the Gods of Asgard and those of these isles have a rather… fractious relationship. I ne're had many opportunities to visit these lands til-"

"RAAAAAAARGH!"

The Hulk plummeted out of the sky like an emerald comet, colliding with the thunder god.

"THOR!?" Wasp cried as both combatants where swallowed by the sea of mist below. She was about to give chase when a black leathery wing blocked her path.

"Mine apologies, Lady van Dyne," the Black Knight intoned solemnly from astride his winged mount, drawing his Ebon Blade from its sheath with a cold metallic hiss. "But I can't allow thee to pass!"

[-]

 **Tihuța Pass, Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania**

Wanda stood in the shadow of a crumbling castle. It crouched atop the snow-capped mountain like some vast sleeping gargoyle, ready to awaken once the already low hanging sun finally sunk below the horizon.

"Figures Doc's maguffin would be back in the 'old country', eh sis?" Pietro snorted.

"Let's just get what we came for and leave." Wanda drew her crimson cloak close, failing to ward off a chill that had little to do with the crisp mountain wind. "I don't like this place. It feels… evil."

"Wanda, please don't get all superstitious on me," Pietro pleaded. "Bad enough I have to listen to Doc drone on about the Warbling Woollies of Wabadooshoo or whatev-OW!"

Wanda playfully thumped him on the shoulder. "You know, you might feel more at home in the Sanctum if you didn't go out of your way to alienate everyone around you."

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Oh, you mean like His Royal Saltiness?"

"Namor's actually quite affable once you get past... all that."

"Easy for you to say," Pietro muttered. "He likes _you._ "

"Oh my God..." Wanda's eyes widened. "You're jealous!"

"I-I am NOT!" cried an uncharacteristically flustered Quicksilver.

"Maybe if you ask nicely, I'll set you two up when we get back," Wanda teased affectionately.

"Wanda, I swear if you breathe a word to Namor-"

 _Tick Tick… BOOM!_

Before the smoke had even cleared, Pietro had already swept up Wanda and deposited her in the castle's courtyard before the rotted oaken doors.

"What in-," she gasped.

The twins looked up, only to be greeted by the sight of a purple-clad archer sitting astride what looked like a flying motorcycle. At his side hovered a ghostly transparent figure draped in a voluminous yellow cloak.

"That was a warning shot, kiddies!" Hawkeye drew a second arrow. "The next one won't be."

"Wanda, get the book," Pietro shouted. "I'll hold them off!"

"You and what army, Speedy Gonz-," Hawkeye's retort was cut off by the sound of a whizzing pebble piercing the sky-cycles fuel tank at near sonic speeds.

"AWCRUDAWCRUDAWCRUD!"

[-]

 **Aswan Dam Reservoir, Upper Egypt**

"Vision, was that an explosion?" Iron Man asked into the com of his hydro-armor, jets carrying him through the silty Nile waters towards a semi-sunken island. "What do you mean Hawkeye is 'largely undamaged'? Never mind, just keep the twins away from… whatever they're looking for. Iron Man out."

"Ill tidings, I take it?" the Black Panther's voice spoke through the com. The Wakandan monarch swam alongside the armored Avenger in a sleek black wet-suit that rendered him all but invisible amid the murky waters.

"Kinda," Iron Man conceded. "Hawkeye and Vision have eyes on the twins, Wasp and Thor have already engaged the Hulk and Black Knight."

"Which only leaves Doctor Strange and… MOVE!" Panther shoved Iron Man abruptly aside as something shot past them, cutting through the water with all the vicious speed of a harpoon.

Iron Man and Panther spun in the water, reorienting themselves just as the savage visage of the Sub-Mariner loomed out of the murk; lips peeled back like a shark about to make the kill.

[-]

 **Glastonbury Tor, England**

"HAVE AT THEE, TRAITOR!" Thor bellowed, bringing his hammer down only for the Hulk to sidestep the strike and respond with a backhand that sent the Asgardian flying across the mist-shrouded moors.

"You've really let yourself go, Blondie. Last time we fought, a tap like that woulda barely phased you. 'Smatter?" Hulk sneered, lumbering through the mist. "Feeling a little… burned out?"

The Hulk was answered by a roar of thunderous fury, and the sight of _Mjolnir_ hurtling from the mist before impacting with his jade jaw.

[-]

Wasp let loose another barrage of bioelectric stings, only for the Black Knight to block them with his Ebon Blade. The jet-black metal looked less like a solid object and more like a sword-shaped hole cut into the very fabric of reality as it absorbed the bio-bolts.

"'Tis beneath mine honour to strike a maiden, fair Lady van Dyne!" intoned the Knight imperiously, sweeping across the sky on his winged steed.

"Yeah, well anytime you wanna give-up, feel free!" Wasp replied, before zipping about the Knight's head, loosing another blast that simply pinged off his night-black helm.

"Then you've forced my hand, milady… For a Knight of New Camelot never surrenders!" the Black Knight decreed, before unleashing the pent-up energy of Wasp's own bio-electric stings back at her from his Ebon Blade.

"Whoa…" Wasp cried, barely dodging her own redirected stings. "I did not know you could do that."

"'Twould seem we are at an impasse, milady," spoke the Black Knight. "Your magiks cannot harm me!"

"Maybe not _you_ ," Wasp smirked, zipping behind the Knight.

"What are you-" The Black Knight head turned, eyes wide as Wasp took aim at his flying steed's rump.

"Sorry, Horsey," Wasp cringed.

 _BTZAPP!_

The winged equine bucked in mid-air, sending the Knight hurtling across the sky…

"AAAAAAAAAGH-uf!"

Only to abruptly stop mid-fall, a strained Wasp lowering him safely to the foot of the ancient tower below.

"Are you off your bloody rocker!? You coulda snapped my ruddy neck!" yelled the Black Knight, legs kicking mere feet from the ground.

"Oh, relax, I'm a professional," said Wasp, dropping him to the ground. "And happened to all that fancy 'milady' talk anyway?"

The Black Knight scrambled to his feet, awkwardly dusting himself off. "I mean… um… Forsooth, I doth verily…"

Wasp cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah…" The Black Knight fell into a slump. "That's kind of an act. People don't really take you seriously if you just roll up on a flying horse all 'Oi, mates, fancy a lift?' Believe it or not, I'm actually a physicist."

"Yeah well… mind explaining what all this is about?" asked Wasp. "You're supposed to be a hero?"

"I am! But…" the Black Knight protested. "Look, Wasp… I just want to say that I'm sorry."

"For attacking me up there!?"

"Yes… and this!" Before Wasp could react, Knight raised his Ebon Blade and discharged one last bio-electric blast.

"Was saving that for an emergency," he sighed before dragging the unconscious Wasp a sheltered section of the weathered tower.

Once satisfied that she'd not be disturbed before awakening, he set off through the remains of the tower with furiously darting eyes before…

He found his prize clinging to a dirt-filled crack in the stone walls, barely distinguishable from a common weed at first glance. Yet no common weed had ever bloomed forth petals of such deep perfect obsidian.

"The Ebon Rose…" he whispered, before sounding off a high-pitched whistle.

Within moments, his night-winged steed came swooping out of the skies, alighting by its master's side with equine grace.

"Good boy, Aragorn." The Black Knight patted the beast's flank affectionately.

Just then, the ground beneath foot and hoof alike began to rumble ominously.

[-]

Thor was slammed deep into the soggy moors. He wrenched himself free only to be hammered down again by a cyclopean menhir, torn loose from its roots and wielded like a stone club by the enraged Hulk.

 _KRA-THUK!_

"You're a joke! You know that, right? Acting like you're so much better than me when you're nothing but some clown who spends too much on shampoo!" the Hulk snarled, before raising the stone menhir over his head again.

"WELL…"

 _KRA-THUK!_

"YOU'RE…"

 _KRA-THUK!_

"NOT!"

The rocky bludgeon finally shattered in Hulk's jade fists, who contemptuously cast aside the stone shards.

The last thing Thor saw before darkness claimed him was the Hulk's emerald heel stomping down on his face.

[-]

 **Tihuța Pass, Romania**

Wanda stepped through a weathered stone archway into the pitch blackness beyond, with only a tiny flickering candle to hold back the thirsting dark.

The vast chamber appeared to be a library of sorts. Towering rows of shelves stuffed with ancient tomes and other less describable curious stood either side of her, their tops lost in the upper shadows.

She came to a long reading table, strewn with papers that must have been at least a century old and half crumbled into dust. She squinted, holding the candle close to examine one semi-disintegrated page.

To her surprise, it was not a page torn from some arcane grimoire or piece of medieval genealogy, but merely what appeared to an old British train timetable.

Something whispered in Wanda's ear.

She spun on her heels, brandishing the softly flickering candle like a weapon only to be confronted by yet more silent darkness.

"Hello…" she spoke to the void. "Is someone there?"

She took a slow careful step forward into the darkness then another and another. Each step more strangely certain and confident than the last, as though she were merely following a path laid down especially for her long ago until finally… she saw it.

The Book lay upon a stone lectern. It was bound in some lustrous leather of deepest darkest crimson, like the skin of an antediluvian serpent. The cover bore no distinguishing marks nor lettering. Nothing to distinguish title, author or contents, yet Wanda knew at the first glance exactly what it was.

"The Darkhold," she whispered with fearful reverence.

The Doctor had warned them that under no circumstances were they to read a single word from the tome, lest they risk forfeiting their very souls.

So why did she find her hand moving towards the rusted iron clasp? Why did she find herself wrenching it open with a brittle creak? Why did her finger trace slowly down the red leather, like a lover's caress?

 _Why are you so afraid of one harmless peek?_

Wanda hesitated for a moment. Not long, but just enough for a half-material specter to emerge from the stone wall behind the lectern.

Wanda dropped the candle. Its frail flame died as coruscating crimson energy wreathed her hands in pure chaos, casting the entire chamber in a blood-red glow.

"Perhaps we should talk?" spoke the cool monotone of the Avenger known only as the Vision.

[-]

Hawkeye leaped from one ruined battlement to another, letting loose one arrow after another. "Stand still, ya little-"

He fired yet another shaft at the silver blur that raced back and forth across the castle's weed-choked courtyard, instinctively aiming not at where the blur was but where it was _going to be_. He bit his lip as the arrow honed in on its target and…

Nothing.

The blur instantly vanished, the entire castle falling deadly silent.

"Did… did I get him?" Hawkeye asked no one before he felt something softly tap his shoulder. He spun on his heels only to find a nonchalant Quicksilver holding a bushel of arrows.

"I think these are yours," said the speedster, before dumping the entire passel in Hawkeye's arms and zipping off with a smirk.

 _Tick-tick…_

"Aw crud."

[-]

"I have read your file, Ms. Maximoff," said the Vision, his voice cold and eerie. "How you aided the Avengers against your father's attempted abduction of the Wasp."

"What of it, machine?" said Wanda, hands raised and ready to unleash a hex bolt at the slightest provocation.

"It is never easy when one is forced to choose between one's creator and one's conscience," said Vision, his voice strangely softened.

Wanda snorted. "Believe me, Avenger. I owed that monster _nothing_."

"Still, you chose the ethical route over personal safety and comfort, which is why I find your current course of action so… incongruent," said Vision. "Please, I only wish to understand your logic?"

Wanda sighed. "If I told you, you'd think I was insane."

"Then you leave me no choice but to-" Vision loomed over Wanda, only to be cut off by the sound of an explosion somewhere in the castle's far reaches.

The split-second of distraction was all Wanda needed to strike, hitting the android Avenger dead-center with a hex-bolt.

"Error: density controls failing," said Vision, flickering in and out of wraith-like transparency as he sank into the stone floor. "Primary back-ups: failing. Secondary back-ups: failing. Tertiary back-ups: failiNNNNNZZZZZZCK!"

Wanda watched in horror as the seemingly emotionless android unleashed a cry of inhuman agony, twitching contorted limbs half materialized within solid stone.

"My God…" she whispered. "What have I done?"

Air wooshed past her ear as Pietro, skidded to a stop beside her.

"'Bout time, I spent the last three seconds searching this dump," said Pietro, glancing down at the prone Vision. "Hey, you took down the wind-up toy? Nice."

"He's in pain," Wanda spoke softly.

" _It_ is a robot, sis. It doesn't 'feel' anything." Pietro rolled his eyes, jabbing the android with his foot. "Now let's grab the Doc's book and scram before the rest Stark's goons show up. I'll go scout out the exit."

Wanda stepped towards the lectern, wrapping her cloak about the Darkhold before turning to follow her brother's wake. She paused in the stone archway, looking back at the Vison's still twitching form.

"I'm sorry."

[-]

 **Aswan, Egypt**

Iron Man collided with the riverbed, sending a cloud of silt flying in all directions. A hairline crack ran through the tempered glass dome of his hydro-armor, courtesy of Namor's fist.

Before Namor could strike again, Panther pounced upon him from behind, racking amphibious flesh with vibranium claws.

"This is wrong…" Iron Man groaned, pushing himself off the riverbed. "Where's Strange?"

"Scanning…" J.A.R.V.I.S' clipped tones spoke. "Sonar detects no other human signatures in the immediate vicinity."

"Dammit! This is all just a distraction." Iron Man swore before reopening his comm. "Panther, keep Namor busy!"

Panther made a gesture that might have been a thumbs-up as he clung desperately to the wildly trashing Namor.

That was good enough for Iron Man who jetted off for the semi-sunken island they had been approaching before Namor's attack.

"Talk to me, J.A.R.V.I.S. I need the deets on this hunk of dirt?"

"Partially flooded by the construction of the Aswan dam; the sacred island of Bigeh was believed to be the burial place of the god Osiris after he was murdered by his treacherous brother," J.A.R.V.I.S. chirped.

"Guess, there's one in every pantheon, huh?" Iron Man drawled. "Wait, if there's a burial chamber… J.A.R.V.I.S, re-calibrate sonar for a geophysics scan."

Iron Man pressed his metal-tipped fingers against the submerged coastline as his HUD gradually built up a three-dimensional map of what appeared to be an intricate subterranean complex just below the waterline.

"Jackpot!"

[-]

Black Panther was sent hurtling from the water, skidding across the rocky island shore with enough speed and force to tear the flesh from his bones if not for his suit's vibranium mesh.

T'Challa leaped to his feet. His teeth clenched behind his mask as pain stabbed through his skull.

Namor emerged from the river, wet rivulets shining like molten gold under the Egyptian sun as they traced the contours of rippling muscles beneath his bronzed skin like a lover's caress.

"You've fought well, Son of T'Chaka," Namor. "Yield now. There is no shame in admitting one is outmatched."

"Curious… Prince Namor," panted T'Challa, vision blurring. "I was… about to extend… the same to courtesy to you."

"If that's how you want it…" spoke Namor, before surging forward like an oncoming tidal wave.

[-]

Strange's hands moved in slow intricate patterns as he chanted softly in a tongue that had not been heard in this land since the days of Old Stygia. Before him, lay the body of a man almost eight feet tall and clad in the raiment of a king. The corpse-god's skin was a deep and beautiful forest green, perfectly preserved save for its missing Left Hand.

Unraveling the layers upon layers of wards and curses the Ennead had weaved about their God King was slow painstaking work. It was an operation as intricate and potentially deadly as any surgery Strange had ever performed. If he made the slightest mistake, he would not even know it until the flesh was already peeling from his bones.

Strange fell silent as the last ward dissipated, or seemed to. There was only one way to be certain.

He carefully phased his fingers through the body's chest, a minor cantrip rendering his hand partially immaterial. Slowly he moved through the body's interior.

Strange sighed with relief before allowing himself a small chuckle at Oshtur's boundless cunning. Where better than the body of a corpse-god to hide…

"The Sword of Bone!" Strange exclaimed with triumph, pulling the pale ivory blade from the unliving deity's form and holding it aloft like some macabre King Arthur.

"Neat! I'll be taking that, thanks."

Before Strange could speak, something like a strip of living steel wrapped about his mouth and sealed it shut. A second strip bound his hands together, causing the Sword of Bone to clatter to the dusty stone floor.

"Nano-titanium mesh," said Iron Man, his glistening golden form rising from the half-submerged entrance to the burial chamber. "I had a theory you couldn't do any of your hocus-pocus without all that fancy finger waggling and flowery poetry. Looks like I was right… again."

Iron Man stooped to retrieve the Sword of Bone, taking his eyes off Strange for little more than a split second.

Which was time enough for Strange to lunge for the Sword. As both men's fingers grazed the ivory blade, Strange reached out to the power hidden in the Cornerstone, not with word or gesture but with thought, as the burial chamber suddenly burst with blinding azure light.

[-]

 _Tony found himself floating naked and alone through a celestial kaleidoscope. All around him hyper-dimensional flowers boomed and died only to be reborn again. Stars tumbled forwards, backward and sideways in time; humming spectral symphonies._

Where the heck am I? _He thought_

The Astral Plane, _a thought replied_. The Dominion of Omnipotent Oshtur. A realm of pure consciousness, shaped only by one's will and intellect.

 _Tony's mind reeled, buffeted by the astral winds of cosmic awareness._

Now Stark. _Strange's shimmering form coalesced from the singing stardust._ Let's see how smart you really are?

 _Strange struck with a blazing ball of pure emerald willpower, totally engulfing Tony's frail astral form. Only for the green flame to dissipate an eternal moment later, revealing a form armored in plates of golden light._

Huh? _Tony thought._ Pretty darn smart after all.

[-]

"Strange, I-" said Namor bursting from the waters at the far end of the burial chamber, only for his eyes to widen in quiet awe. "Great Valka."

Before him stood Strange and Iron Man, grappling for what Namor could only presume was the Sword of Bone. Yet both surface dwellers stood as entirely still and immobile as two coral growths, their fingers locked about the ivory blade in a rictus grip.

Namor waved a webbed hand before the mage's dull lifeless eyes, lips curling in distaste. "Hrmm… Sorcery."

[-]

Stupid Magic! Stop existing! _Iron Man thought, deflecting another paradox barrage by summoning a shield of symbolic logic. His mind raced, countering every attack by actualizing weapons and defenses that could only exist in a purely theoretical realm._

I'm impressed, Stark. You're not as hidebound as I first assumed. Few would able to adapt to an astral duel so quickly. _Strange thought, his consciousness reaching out in all planes._ Still, your vision is bound only by the possible…

 _Singing stars swirled about Strange, forming a phalanx of shrieking spears._

I have no such limitations.

 _With a thought, the shrieking star-spears were sent raining down on Iron Man's astral form, ripping away his logic shield, his shining armor, and his very consciousness until only the naked core of his very being stood exposed._

 _With each strike, another old wound was torn open afresh. Every secret shame, every bitter disappointment, every last failure of a lifetime came rushing back on Tony's mind in an instant._

 _And in that instant, Tony screamed._

[-]

Iron Man collapsed upon the burial chamber floor, panting, sobbing, and heaving. He lay upon the cold stone, barely moving, his will seemingly broken.

"What in Valka's Name did you do to him?" Namor asked breathlessly.

"Nothing he hasn't already done to himself." Strange replied. "Panther?"

Namor shrugged. "He'll live."

"Your restraint is appreciated, my prince," Strange said, retrieving the Sword of Bone. "Come, we should-"

Something tugged on Strange's cloak.

He looked down to see Iron Man's plated fingers feebly clutching the hem of his cloak.

"Y… you… bast…" The Avenger groaned.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to go through that," Strange said. "But we all have to confront our demons sooner or later."

A moment later Strange and Namor were enveloped by shimmering mist, leaving Tony as alone as he'd ever been in his entire life.

[-]

 **The Sanctum Sanctorum**

Clea watched as the shimmering mist dissipated, revealing the shapes of her husband and his five comrades baring the remaining three relics.

"Welcome home, my love," she spoke, pecking Stephen on the cheek. "All went well I take it?"

"There were some slight… complications," Stephen said. "But we now have all four Cornerstones of Creation, and nothing left to fear from the Avengers."

"Uh… Doc?" the Black knight piped up uncertainly, bending down to examine the hem of Stephen's cloak.

Stephen arched an inquisitive eyebrow as the Knight plucked a tiny silver disc from the fabric, barely half the size of a penny.

"Looks like some sorta tracer," said the Knight.

Stephen's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Stark."

[-]

 **A Quinjet, somewhere over the Atlantic.**

"Triangulating tracer signal…" J.A.R.V.I.S. droned. "177A Bleecker Street, New York City."

Beneath his face-plate, Tony smirked.

"Gotcha!"

 _ **To be Continued…**_


	3. Fire

_Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes_ and all related characters and concepts are the property of Marvel Entertainment and the Walt Disney Company. Please don't sue me, Mousy Overlords. :(

* * *

 **The Sanctum Sanctorum, 117A Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, NYC**

Across the infinite black stretched a luminous web, countless points of light sparkled within it like celestial flies; trapped and awaiting some slavering, void-haunting spider.

At the center of this mind-bending tableau floated a circular stone platform, upon which stood seven uniquely clad figures.

"Once the Veiling begins, there will be no going back. Even the slightest disruption could mean annihilation," spoke Strange gravely, Sword of Bone in hand. "Do you all understand the risks?"

Namor, Black Knight, and Scarlet Witch nodded their quiet assent; each bearing their own Cornerstone of Creation.

"Good," Strange nodded back before turning to Clea, flanked by Hulk and Quicksilver. "To you three falls the most critical task. Stark and his lackeys are doubtless already on their way. They must be held at bay until the Veiling is complete."

Strange stepped forward, taking Clea's hands in his own. "I can think of no one else I would sooner entrust my life to."

"They shall not cross this threshold alive, my love," spoke Clea. "This I swear."

"I sincerely pray it will not come to that," whispered Strange, before joining Namor, Black Knight & Scarlet Witch within a circle of faintly glowing violet glyphs. "Let us begin."

Namor was the first to step forward, holding aloft the Serpent's Crown.

"By the Water that encircles us," he intoned as hissing serpents of aquamarine light flowed out of the Crown.

"By the Earth beneath us," followed the Black Knight, vines of dark-green energy creeping forth from the Ebon Rose.

"By the Fire within us," echoed the Scarlet Witch as laughing crimson flames blazed from the iron-bound Darkhold.

"By the Air above us!" Strange finally cried as he held aloft the Sword of Bone, issuing whips of pale white light.

The four streams of mystic energy converged upon the exact center of the glyphic circle, merging into a single pillar of violet light that shot ever upwards.

[-]

 **Quinjet, just off the east coast of North America.**

"And… there!" Iron Man spoke, withdrawing a small needle-like tool from the side of the Vision's android skull. "How's that?"

The Vision raised his hand, momentarily willing it transparent. "Density controls appear to be operating within normal parameters. Thank you, Iron Man."

"At least, you can fix Vish," interjected a singed and dejected Clint Barton, cradling a piece of crispy burnt purple fabric. "Nothing will ever replace my mask."

"Clint, you have six other masks just like that one?" Iron Man replied.

"Yeah," sighed Clint sadly. "But this was my Lucky Mask."

"Uh, guys?" Wasp's voice buzzed through the intercom. "I think you should see this."

[-]

Iron Man and Clint spilled into the cockpit, while an immaterial Vision simply phased through the bulkhead.

"Okay, what's the…" began Iron Man before trailing off, eyes widening behind his face-plate. "Holy Hannah!"

Beyond the quinjet's windshield, the New York skyline was only just beginning to peek above the horizon. From somewhere within its concrete canyons, a pillar of blinding violet light stabbed heavenwards; turning the sky itself the same eerie shade.

"It started just a minute ago," spoke Wasp as she worked the controls, bathed in the violet glow.

"Scans suggest that the energy signature of the phenomenon is similar to that of the Cornerstones," added Black Panther, adjusting the quinjet's sensors. "I believe I have a fix on the point of origin."

"Lemme guess," said Iron Man. "117A Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village?"

Panther nodded.

"Gee, glad I went to all the trouble of planting a tracer on him," snorted Iron Man.

"By the Allfather! The fiends have the gall to work their deviltry within our own city?!" Thor snarled through still bloody lips, rising from the chair he'd been slumped in most of the trip back. "We cannot let such arrogance go unchallenged!"

"We won't Thor, believe me," said Iron Man. "Wasp?"

"Call up the NYPD and request they cordon off the area?" Wasp replied. "Already taken care of."

"Oh, um…" mulled Iron Man. "I was gonna say 'take us in' but yeah, good call."

"So, now take us in?" Wasp asked.

"Just go," sighed Iron Man.

[-]

 **The Sanctum Sanctorum, 117A Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, NYC**

 _Vrrrrrrrrrrr-THOOOM!_

The ancient doors of the venerable townhouse were blasted off their hinges, sending oaken splinters flying in all directions across the dimly lit foyer.

"Knock-knock," said Iron Man, replusor raised and flanked by the rest of the Avengers; all silhouetted in the violet glow suffusing the city.

At the foot of an obsidian staircase with gargoyle-mounted balustrades, stood three figures; a silver-haired woman clad in a purple Nehru jacket, flanked either side by Quicksilver and the Hulk.

"You're trespassing," the silver-haired woman spoke icily.

"Yeah, and you're thieves," Iron Man shot back, stepping over the threshold. "So how about you hand over the goods before anyone gets hurt?"

"So be it," hissed the silver-haired woman. "Hulk, Quicksilver, defend the Sanctum!

Quicksilver was naturally first into battle, zipping back and forth faster than either Black Panther, Hawkeye or Vision could track. He struck monarch and synthezoid alike with lightning punches, withdrawing before even their preternatural reflexes could retaliate.

"Oh, screw this!" Clint swore, firing a single arrow that landed in the middle of the foyer.

"Seriously? They should call you Lazyeyeeeaaagh!?" Quicksilver sputtered as the floor beneath his feet turned to a thin layer of ice, sending the speedster sliding directly into an obsidian gargoyle.

"An ice-arrow to prevent him from gaining traction," observed Panther, nursing his jaw. "Impressive."

"What can I say?" Clint shrugged. "It's a classic."

[-]

"Look, Ms, I don't want to hurt you," cautioned Iron Man, advancing on the silver-haired woman.

"Pity for you I have no such compunctions," she replied. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a tongue of blue flame that lashed out at Iron Man like a whip.

"GAAAGH!" Iron Man cried, reeling back as the flame whip partially melted his shoulder armor. "Who the heck are you, lady?"

"I am Clea, daughter of Umar the Unrelenting, mistress of the Flames of the Faltine!" she proclaimed, azure fire flowing about her, moving in sync with her every gesture. "I was instructed in the Art by the Dread Dormammu Himself!"

"Oh yeah? Well, I have no idea what any of that means!" Iron Man retorted, narrowly dodging a blue fireball.

The woman called Clea pressed her advantage, lashing out again and again with searing flame until she had Iron Man backed into a corner. With a final gesture, she summoned a wall of azure fire to contain the Avenger.

"Do you have any final requests, Earther?" Clea asked coldly.

"Yeah," answered Iron Man. "Look behind you"

"You can't honestly expect me toUUGHH!" Clea fell face first, blue flames dissipating as she lost consciousness. Behind her, hovered Wasp, bio-electric energy still crackling about her fingertips.

[-]

With the rest of the Avengers occupied, Thor launched himself at a set of obsidian doors at the top of the Gothic staircase. He raised _Mj_ ö _lnir_ high, ready to bash his way through to the Inner Sanctum when a green fist wrapped about his crimson cloak and violently slammed the thunder god to the ground

"YOU CAN'T TAKE ME, THOR!" Hulk roared, pinning the thunder god under a single trunk-like foot. "I'M STRONGER THAN YOU, STRONGER THAN ANY OF YOU!"

"Perhaps, brute," spoke Thor, smiling through bloodied lips. "But are you stronger than _all_ of us?"

"Eh?" Hulk look up and into an oncoming barrage of repulsor blasts, wasp stings, energy daggers, explosive arrows, and laser beams.

[-]

Hulk was sent flying through the obsidian doors, tumbling along a broad stone walkway 'til he skidded to a stop and collapsed into an insensate lump.

The Avengers followed in hot pursuit only to freeze before the sight that greeted them.

The twinkling cosmic web stretching in all directions into black infinity, Strange and his remaining three cohorts upon the central stone platform, and the shimmering violet pillar of light rising from the central apex.

"What _is_ all this?" Wasp asked awestruck.

"I… I've seen this before," said Iron Man. "This is a scaled-down representation of the entire known universe!"

"What, you're saying every one of these teeny-tiny light-pricks is a star?" Clint asked.

"No," answered Iron Man gravely. "Every one of those 'light-pricks' is a galactic-cluster!"

"Sympathetic magic?" Panther offered. "Strange may be using this symbolic representation to effect his sorcery on a universal scale!"

"What, like a Voodoo doll?" Clint asked.

"Essentially," answered Panther. "Though that is a common misconception as such effigies are rooted more in European magical practices than African or Ameri-"

"Enough exposition!" Iron Man cried, charging his repulsors. "I'm blasting it!"

"Tony wait! We don't kno-" cried Wasp, only to be drowned out by the roar of twin repulsor blasts.

The humming pillar of violet light seemed to scream as the repulsor beams struck, degrading into a shrieking tongue of bloody crimson. It lashed violently against the cosmic panoply, tearing a wound in the ink-black heavens to reveal the shining white void beyond.

The four ritualists were sent flying back by the mystic backlash. Strange was still on his hands and knees when Iron Man grabbed him roughly by the collar of his cloak, yanking the mage to his feet.

"Okay, Vincent van Ghoul," snarled Iron Man, shaking his quarry. "Why did you steal the Crown!? What were you trying to-"

Iron Man was cut off by a haunting inhuman wail, as massive insectoid talons emerged from the shining wound in reality above. They were followed swiftly by another set of talons, each gripping the edges of the rift as some... thing painfully birthed itself into existence.

Strange's eyes narrowed. "We were trying to prevent something like _that!_ "

None who looked upon the creature could do so without pain. Its proportions and contours overlapped and conflicted in ways that seemed physically impossible, like something that had never been intended to be confined within a mere three dimensions.

From some angles, it gave the impression of sleek metallic perfection, like a monument of polished silver. From others, it seemed to be covered in black pot-marked chitin, like the scarred shell of a crustacean dredged from the ocean's depths.

The air turned sour, cold; filled with a scent like crushed insects and rotting meat.

 _A new world and we are called. A new world, empty space and burning gas, matter and energy, beating hearts and rushing blood. A new world, and we are called._

All clutched their throbbing skulls as the thing's words lanced through their minds like a knife.

 _A new world, and we pave the way... for the Light that is Not Light._

The creature raised their two (or was it four?) claws, releasing streams of energy that caused the shining white rift to grow slowly but surely larger.

"What. The. #%$&! Is that?!" Wasp cried.

"A Wayfinder of Oblivion, a kind of otherworldly scout," answered Strange. "They're trying to enlarge the rift large enough to allow their master to fully manifest in our universe."

"And who, or what, exactly their 'master'?" Wasp asked.

"Believe me, you'll sleep easier not knowing," spoke Strange, shaking off Iron Man and rising to confront the Wayfinder.

"Oh like I'm letting you outta of my sight," muttered Iron Man, firing his jets to follow.

"Wayfinder!" Strange bellowed with authority.

The Wayfinder paused, slowly inclining their head (or heads) towards the mage.

"I am Doctor Stephen Strange; Sorcerer Supreme of this plane, champion of the eternal Vishanti, and veteran of the War of Seven Spheres," the Doctor proclaimed. "This world is under my protection, and neither you nor your master are welcome here! Leave peacefully now, or you will be _made_ to leave!"

 _A new world, toil and strife, sound and fury, blood and pain. A new world, rejoice for we bring Oblivion's bliss._

Power flashed from the Wayfinder's two (or four) eyes, hurling Strange from the sky as the creature resumed their task.

"Stephen!" Clea cried, racing into the chamber after Quicksilver.

With a thrust of his jets, Iron Man nabbed the sorcerer in mid-fall.

"I… thank you," spoke Strange groggily.

"Don't thank me. I'm not letting you off that easy," muttered Iron Man. "Avengers, light that thing up!"

Once more, Earth's Mightiest Heroes unleashed an onslaught of wasp stings, divine lightning, energy daggers, exploding arrows and precision laser strikes. Each hit tore away more and more of the Wayfinder's jelly-like (or was it stone?) flesh until nothing remained.

"AAAWWHYEAH!" Clint crowed, punching the air. "That's how we kick it Earth style!"

"That was far too easy," cautioned Panther.

Almost on cue, impossibly angled limbs began regenerating from seemingly nowhere. The Wayfinder swiftly retook their ever-shifting shape, gazing down balefully at their attackers.

Clint shot Panther a dagger-glare. "You just had to say it, didn't you?"

The Wayfinder raised an enormous obsidian claw (or was it a silver fist?) to crush them all with a single blow.

"RAAAAAARGH!" Hulk roared, impacting directly upon what served as the Wayfinder's face, causing the creature to reel back in something almost like fright. "STUPID BUG-STATUE-MONSTER MAKE HULK'S HEAD HURT! MAKE HULK MAAAAAD!"

The Wayfinder staggered as the green goliath unleashed one jackhammer fist after another, sending tar-black ichor flying in all directions.

"GO HULK!" Wasp whooped. "That buys us time at least."

"For what?" Clint demanded. "We already vaporized that thing!"

"The bulk of the Wayfinder exists outside the conventional three spatial dimensions," interjected Strange, shaking off Iron Man as they alighted. "Conventional physical attacks alone won't be enough."

"Perhaps Ms. Maximoff can help?" Vision spoke without inflection.

"What?" Wanda asked fearfully as all eyes turned on her.

"From what Dr. Strange said, the Wayfinder's mere existence in our universe is already straining probability to its breaking point," clarified Vision. "Your 'hex bolts' may be enough to tip it over the edge, from improbability to impossibility."

Wanda's lips quivered for a moment as she gazed up at the trashing Wayfinder, before her eyes hardened. "I'll need time to prepare a hex that big, a few minutes at least."

"Very well," spoke Strange. "The rest of you distract the demon while Iron Man and I attend to the rift."

"And we're listening to you, _why?_ " Iron Man asked.

"Do you have any other choice?" Strange answered.

"Fine," said Iron Man. "Avengers, back up Hulk."

Strange immediately turned to Clea and his remaining comrades. "My allies, defend this world!"

Friend and foe alike leaped into action, former quarrels and rivalries momentarily forgotten.

Wasp, and Black Knight upon his steed, darted about and around the Wayfinder's head(s), stinging and slicing at the beast's flesh while evading slow cumbersome talons.

Thor and Namor joined the Hulk in his onslaught, sending the titanic Wayfinder reeling and they collided with the demon's torso.

Panther, Hawkeye, and Quicksilver raced about what might be construed as the creature's feet; energy daggers, exploding arrows and near-sonic fists attacking from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"All of you, get clear!" Clea cried, eyes blazing with azure flame.

The assembled heroes leaped or flew for cover as the Wayfinder was engulfed in a titanic pillar of blue fire. The demon howled with a thousand voices, yet still the otherworldly flames merely seared their skin.

[-]

"Are you ready?" Vision asked.

"I think so," answered Wanda, steadying her breathing. "Look, Vision. Before we do this I just wanted to say... sorry about what happened in Romania."

"Apology: accepted and... appreciated," spoke Vision, something almost like a smile about his lips as he extended a hand. "Shall we?"

Wanda gingerly took the Vision's hand as he slowly lowered the density of the rest of his body, lifting them both like a balloon. Higher and higher they rose 'til they were almost eye-level with the badly charred Wayfinder.

The Wayfinder fixed the mutant and synthezoid with a glare of cold malice, titan talons reaching out.

Which was the exact moment the Scarlet Witch chose to unleash a blast of coruscating crimson energy from her free hand. The massive hex-bolt swept over the Wayfinder like a wave, turning otherworldly flesh to pale ash.

[-]

"Energy is energy, whether drawn from science or sorcery," spoke Strange as he and Iron Man hovered before the blinding white rift. "I can craft a spell that will bind the tear, but I'm still drained from attempting to channel the Cornerstones. I'll need to draw on the extra power of your armor's reactor."

"The reactor that keeps me _alive_?" Iron Man sniped.

"Trust me, I'm a Doctor."

Iron Man begrudgingly grunted his assent as Strange placed his hand upon the ARC reactor, raw power flowing up his arm.

"By Gaea's grace, by Osthur's shield, I command this wound be healed!" cried Strange, ARC energy converting to glowing ribbons of green and gold that coiled about the tear like a surgeon's stitches.

As the jagged rift drew closed, Strange and Iron Man felt… something watching them from the shining white void beyond; something older than time, vaster than space and more patient than death. It reached out, softly brushing their minds with three silent words, like a whisper in a vacuum or a forgotten lover's promise:

 _I can wait._

The rift sealed with a final discharge of energy, sending sorcerer and scientist alike falling from the sky.

Iron Man and Strange crashed upon the stone platform, the grey-white ash of what had been the Wayfinder drifted down upon them like warm snow. The two men looked up, meeting each other's gaze.

In an instant, Iron Man charged his repulsors as Strange raised his hands in a mystic gesture, their respective teams falling into a fighting stance behind them.

"OH, ENOUGH ALREADY!" Wasp's voice rang out as she landed between Strange and Iron Man, arms raised. "Nobody is firing off another repulsor blast, magic spell, arrow or fist until somebody explains what the heck is going on here!?"

"Back off, Wasp," growled Iron Man.

Wasp glared. "No, Tony, _you_ back off?"

"Excuse me?"

"As I recall, you officially stepped down as leader," said Wasp. "And since Cap's not here, I'm invoking seniority!"

"Seniority?" Iron Man flustered. "I'm a _founding_ member!?"

"Yeah, me too," said Wasp. "But _I_ didn't storm off and leave the team in a lurch 'cuz I was afraid the plants in the mansion's foyer might be alien spies. _I_ didn't come swanning back weeks later when it was personally convenient, expecting everyone to act like nothing happened. _I_ have stood by this team longer than anyone. So. Back. Off."

 _Clap-clap-clap._

Iron Man peaked back over his shoulder, where Clint was softly clapping.

"Oh, you're _loving_ this, aren't you?" Iron Man grumbled.

"You kidding, Stark?" Clint grinned from ear to ear. "I've been waiting for someone to give you a proper dressing down since I joined this outfit. Always figured it'd be Cap though."

Iron Man slumped dejectedly before turning back to Wasp. "Alright, what's the play, chief?"

Wasp immediately spun back on Strange. "You, Doctor Wizard, just who the heck are you?"

"As I told the Wayfinder, my name is Doctor Stephen Strange," he panted, Clea helping him to his feet. "And I am the Earth Realm's Sorcerer Supreme, charged with defending this plane of existence from the myriad threats that lurk beyond the borders of what you might call 'reality'."

"You speak false, warlock!" Thor bellowed, leveling an accusing hammer. "The Ancient One of Kamar-Taj is known throughout the Nine Realms. _She_ is Midgard's true Sorceress Supreme!"

"The Ancient One… passed on several years ago," sighed Strange, eyes downcast. "She nominated me to succeed her."

"I… I did not know," spoke Thor.

"Okay, if your job is defending the universe then _why_ did you just rip a ginormous hole in it?" Wasp demanded.

"Nothing could have been further from our intent," said Strange. "The Veil was meant to seal off our universe. To make travel between Earth and the rest of the Omniverse virtually impossible."

"Why would you even need to accomplish such a thing?" Panther inquired.

"Ask Blondie," grunted Hulk.

All eyes turned on Thor, as a look of horrified realization dawned across the Thunderer's face.

"Surtur," he whispered fearfully.

Clint cocked his head. "Okay, what's a surter?"

"Not what, who. Though, perhaps 'what' is apter," mulled Thor forlornly, turning away from the others' gaze. "Surtur the Fire Demon is the Lord of Muspelheim, a realm of everlasting flame. He claims to be the first living being to walk the Nine Realms. He intends to be the last."

"What do you mean 'the last'?" Wasp asked softly.

"Since the Dawn of Time, Surtur's every thought and deed has been bent on a single purpose; to burn the Nine Realms to ash and bring about Ragnarok, the Doom of the Gods, the Doom of… Everything," answered Thor. "If Strange's spell can at least spare Midgard..?"

Wasp turned back to Strange. "Say we let you finish your spell, what happens to the other Eight Realms?"

Strange pursed his lips for a moment. "When Ragnarok comes… they'll burn."

Wasp's eyes narrowed. "That is unacceptable."

"If there's one thing I've learned, both as a doctor and a sorcerer, it's that you can't save everyone," said Strange.

"We can try," answered Wasp.

"Be reasonable, Wasp!" Namor stepped forward. "I sympathize with the Asgardian's plight, but we must look to our own kingdoms first!"

"Prince Namor… raises a valid concern," offered T'Challa weakly.

"Oh?" Wasp snapped. "And when the next world-destroying Big Bad shows up and the choice is to cut Atlantis loose… or Wakanda?"

Neither monarch answered.

"Yeah," spoke Wasp finally. "Suddenly we're not so coldly pragmatic."

"Wasp, please," pleaded Thor. "You do not know Surtur. He is not like Loki or the Enchantress! He is a force of nature, destruction incarnate-"

Wasp stepped forward, pressing a finger to the Asgardian's lips. "So were Galactus and the Wayfinder. Look how they turned out?"

Thor fell silent.

"We don't trade lives," continued Wasp. "We don't hide while others die, and we don't abandon our friends."

"I'm with the boss lady," said Clint, stepping forward to lay a hand on Thor's broad shoulders. "We got your back, big guy."

He was followed quickly by Iron Man, Vision and finally Black Panther.

"My friends…" spoke Thor through glistening tears. "You humble me."

"This is all very inspiring, I'm sure," drawled Strange. "But this world doesn't need to be avenged, it needs to be defended. _We_ still have the Cornerstones of Creation, and _I_ don't need your permission to-"

"No."

Every eye suddenly turned once more upon the Scarlet Witch, clutching the Darkhold tightly to her chest.

"I beg your pardon?" Strange asked.

"Wasp is right, this is wrong," answered Wanda. "You need me to channel the Darkhold and I will have no more part in this."

"Wanda?" Quicksilver spoke.

"Ask yourself something, Pietro," spoke Wanda, turning to lock eyes with her brother. "What would our father do?"

Pietro looked away, brow furrowed in distaste. "Point, sis."

"If the twins are out then so am I," piped up the Black Knight. "The Ebon Rose belongs back in Britain."

"What!?" Strange spun on him. "Do you have any concept of the stakes you're playing with?"

"Typical surface-dwellers, a few soft words and you all lose your nerve," Namor snorted, holding aloft the Serpent's Crown to admire its green glistening form. "At least, I won't be returning to Atlantis empty-handed."

"Yeah, no," interjected Wasp. "You are _not_ keeping the Crown, Namor."

"Then take it if you can, Avenger!"

"Enough!" Strange bellowed as he and Clea were consumed in a plume of shimmering mist. Instantly, the cosmic web of galaxies above began to contort into something not unlike the sorcerer's scowling visage.

" _ **I have tolerated your childish bickering long enough!"**_ Strange's image thundered, eyes burning like supernovas. " _ **If none of you are willing to do what must be done… THEN GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"**_

Wasp raised her arms, screwing her eyes against the light that burned ever brighter and hotter until…

[-]

 **Avengers Mansion, 890 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, NYC**

Wasp slowly unscrewed her eyes, finding herself standing within the meeting hall under Avengers Mansion, along with Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther, Clint & Vision.

"Okay, that was… different," She exhaled. "Anyone catch what Strange did with Hulk?"

[-]

 **Quebec, Canada**

Hulk glared up at the cold grey sky, snow starting to accumulate on his shoulders like slushy dandruff.

"Nah, it's fine! Just drop me anywhere!" Hulk bellowed sardonically to the heavens. "Dumb magician."

He glanced down at a frozen puddle.

"Real funny, Banner," he snorted before turning west. "Just for that, I'm making you walk."

 _ **The End?**_


	4. Air

_Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes_ and all related characters and concepts are the property of Marvel Entertainment and the Walt Disney Company. Please don't sue me, Mousy Overlords. :(

* * *

 **Avengers Mansion, 890 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, NYC**

Janet van Dyne, clad in a fresh change of civilian clothes, sat by one of the mansion's many windows. The setting sun slowly sunk behind the Manhattan skyline. Out on the lawn, Thor knelt with head bowed, as though in prayer.

Who does a god pray to when they're in trouble?

"Jan?"

She bolted upright, spinning about to greet an also civilian-garbed Tony Stark.

"Hey, Tony!" Jan blurted. "Look, I just want to say… sorry about blowing up on you back at Strange's place."

"Actually, Jan, I was going apologize to you," said Tony.

Jan cocked her head. "You were?"

"You were right to call me out," conceded Tony, slumping against the window-frame. "I'm supposed to be the guy who's ten steps ahead of everyone else. But I let Strange get under my skin and nearly got us all killed charging into a situation I didn't understand. Which is why I've been thinking…"

"Thinking?" Jan asked cautiously.

"Since we're going be dividing our forces between Earth and Asgard for the foreseeable future, I thought we might ask Cap about amending the Avengers' charter to create a position of Deputy Chairperson," elaborated Tony. "Or Chair _woman_ , in this case?"

Jan's eyes widened. "Are… are you, serious?"

"No one has put more into this team than you, Jan. If you want the job, I'll back you 100%, and I doubt I'll be the only one," said Tony, extending his hand. "What do you say?"

"YES!" Jan cried ecstatically, throwing her arms about Tony in a bear-hug that belied her petite frame. "YESYESYES!"

 **The Beginning?**

[-]

 **Featuring the Voice Talents of…**

Dee Bradley Baker - The Elf

Jeff Bennett - The Black Knight

Chris Cox - Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye

Kate Higgins - Wanda Maximoff AKA Scarlet Witch

Mark Hildreth - Pietro Maximoff AKA Quicksilver

Chuck Huber - Oblivion

Peter Jessop - The Vision

Phil LaMarr - Just A Really Very Intelligent System

Stan Lee - Stan the Hotdog Vendor

Eric Loomis - Tony Stark AKA Iron Man

James C. Mathis III - T'Challa AKA Black Panther

Colleen O'Shaughnessey - Janet van Dyne AKA Wasp

C.C.H. Pounder - Clea

James Sie - Dr. Stephan Strange

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa - Namor the Sub-Mariner

Fred Tatasciore - Hulk

Eric Vesbit - Sergei Kravinoff AKA Kraven the Hunter

Rick D. Wasserman - Thor Odinson

[-]

 **Consultant of Nothing**

Masterdramon

[-]

 **In memory**

Stan "the Man" Lee

1922 – 2018


End file.
